


Midnight

by starshipslytherin



Series: Jegulus writing [12]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Light Angst, Living Together, M/M, Secret Crush, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 00:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14659269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starshipslytherin/pseuds/starshipslytherin
Summary: James and Sirius manage to remove a fifteen-year-old Regulus from his terrible home environment shortly after Sirius had to escape it to save his own life, and Regulus's presence does things to James he can't explain.One night, he is kept awake by the boy passionately playing the piano, which is both intriguing and very annoying.





	Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING: Mentions of emotional and physical abuse (no descriptions of physical violence, but effects are depicted)**
> 
> "What the fuck are you doing it's midnight why are you playing 'My Heart Will Go On' on the piano" AU ([credit](http://dailyau.tumblr.com/))  
> (Also a "'Titanic' existed in 1976" AU)

Ever since Sirius had moved in with James and his parents, their house had been a much louder and noisier place than before, but it had as well become more vivid, and fuller of love, and even homelier than it had already been. Sirius had begun to blossom the way he hadn't done since he first met the Marauders in his first year, since he first left his dreadful excuse of a home, and there was no doubt he had been a full member of the Potter family since the very second he had appeared on their doorstep cursed and half beaten to death (but convinced he was looking "very punk rock", whatever that meant - it was an expression he had begun to use soon after he first started listening to a new Muggle band called "The Sex Pistols").  
But James couldn't quite say what effect the arrival of Sirius's little brother had ("He makes the house stink of cowardice and depressing poetry" - Sirius).  
In the months and years before, Sirius had proven to be very stubborn about ignoring Regulus's very existence (which, admittedly, was easy, since Regulus was very small and therefore not very noticeable), so James had been surprised about being able to convince Sirius easily to invite Regulus to live with them, too. His dad had been making a huge fuss about it as well, not wanting a fifteen-year-old living alone in what conditions could have killed even Sirius. Meanwhile, his mum had been bracing herself for a fully fleshed out war against the Black family, and no one could have stopped her if her moment had come to attack Walburga Black with her bare hands. Therefore, knowing of the dimensions of Euphemia's wrath if unleashed, James decided to pick up Regulus personally (since he had not responded to any of Sirius's letters).  
Regulus had been both scared and surprised when, in the middle of the night, his brother and his brother's idiot mate had been floating in front of his window on their broomsticks, laughing and waving at him. He didn't seem to have received any of the letters, and he had even been terrified Sirius might be dead. A worried remark about the bruises on his entire body and his pale face quickly convinced him to pack his stuff, repeatedly emphasising that he would regret leaving as soon as he wasn't sleep deprived any more, and he wrote a note lying to his family about his whereabouts, tied his teddy bear around his waist with a checkered blanket, and followed the two older boys, determination and fear battling in the depths of his dark eyes.  
Regulus, quiet and reserved, hadn't had a similar impact on the Potters' everyday life as Sirius. He excelled at subtlety; he knew how to linger in the shadows, he was never noticeable or obtrusive, but still, his presence was perceivable, and it was rather pleasant to James. He exhibited peculiar habits (like spending an hour sitting in front of Fleamont's potted herbs and closely inspecting them with all his senses, softly stroking their tiny leaves with his pinky finger, absorbed in thoughts James wished he could have heard) and he rarely spoke, creating comfortable silences when he sat with anyone, occassionally sharing single little-known facts he had learnt about Quidditch, potions, or butterflies. His thoughts seemed to go deep, too deep to bother with small talk. When James had attempted to talk to him about the weather once, Regulus had informed him that butterflies couldn't really regulate their own body temperature due to being cold-blooded, which was the true reason the summer heat was a blessing, and that he thought small talk was a superfluous and superficial social construct that ought to be ended. He didn't see how it was regarded as polite to make one's lack of relevant conversation topics and inability to autonomously think so obvious, he said. He also liked putting the old piano in the living room to good use again, even though he only practised new works when he seemed to feel unwatched. When other people were in the same room as him, he would play the exact same thing over and over again until they left, and James liked sitting at the kitchen table listening to him despite the repetitive melody.  
Sirius liked to lovingly call his younger sibling a weirdo, but James felt in his gut that there was more to his strange behaviour than that. He knew a broken person when he saw one, even if that didn't mean he could ever have handled it without sheer dumb luck and a lot of apologetic smiling.  
At the same time, Regulus's secretive playing the piano intrigued him. He would have jumped off the Astronomy tower to hear Regulus playing from nearby, to see him narrow his eyes in concentration when he was trying to play a series of notes his fingers had never encountered before.  
He never would have believed to be so irritated when he finally found out what exactly Regulus played when he was left to himself.  
James, who occassionally had a pretty light sleep, awoke in the middle of a Thursday night to the sound of a passionate piano melody, and he gradually felt his temper rise while that one irritating song continued to fulfil the entire house with its annoying melody, and there were still no signs indicating its ceasing after twenty minutes. He decided to get up and to end it, even if it meant stopping Regulus playing for good. He knew he would probably hurt him, and that he would likely regret that, and that it would be the worst thing to do to Regulus, but his yawning, his heavy eyelids, and his headache were a bad guide to his morals.  
"Why the fuck are you playing 'Titanic' on the piano in the middle of the night?", he snapped upon entering the living room.  
Regulus, who had been in some sort of trance, almost, jumped and nearly fell off his stool. He sent a venomous glare James's way (which did hurt). "It's called 'My Heart Will Go On'", he hissed.  
"Just let me sleep, man", James sighed.  
"Look - I was getting carried away. It's difficult. I'm sorry you couldn't sleep, but please don't suddenly appear and yell at me like that."  
"I wasn't yelling!"  
Regulus looked at him. "It scares me, James."  
James felt his eyes widen, and he swallowed. "I'm sorry, Reg."  
There was an awkward moment of silence, and the threat of something between them being broken weighed James down. "You're so young, Regulus."  
"I had to grow up early in life, you see."  
James snorted and allowed himself to get closer to the younger boy, casually leaning against the wooden piano. "What about your teddy bear? Your favourite blanket?"  
Regulus folded his arms. "Not much comfort you can get in that house without having something you can cuddle", he mumbled, and then, more firmly: "They took him from me when I turned eleven. Forcibly. It was my worst birthday despite getting my Hogwarts letter. And - I guess if they hadn't constantly done stuff like that, I maybe wouldn't need it now. It's one thing to hurt your children, but it's more painful to take away what you know is their single source of comfort. And now that I'm older, I'm scared what they'd take from fifteen-year-old me to hurt me. It definitely wouldn't be as little as a stuffed animal."  
"How did you get that teddy back, then?"  
Regulus shrugged weakly. "I just did. I never hear the end of how weak I am."  
"You're not weak. You fled!"  
"You took me."  
"You came with us."  
"I guess so."  
They said nothing for another while. Regulus ran his long, pale fingers over the piano keys without playing anything, just taking in their smooth texture, biting his lower lip.  
"What's the reason you love that particular song so much? The Titanic one?"  
Regulus looked up at James with a small frown. "It's still called 'My Heart Will Go On'. Besides - I don't know. Or maybe I do know, but it's ridiculous."  
"Do tell me. I won't think you're ridiculous, I promise."  
Regulus started staring intensely at his fingertips resting on the keys, apparently sucking on the insides of his cheeks. "Just a stupid crush", he said after a minute.  
"Crushes are never stupid. You can't control them. They just happen", James replied softly.  
"Yeah, but it sure is stupid to get a crush on someone, plan out your entire life together, then realise it will never happen, and to mentally split up and sing about how I'll always keep the boyfriend I never had in my heart." His pale cheeks were tinted with a pink blush. "Just forget this ever happened. This is so embarrassing. My parents will make me marry someone I don't love anyway."  
"Only if you let them", James said. "You don't have to let them. You can be free if you want."  
A teardrop ran down Regulus's face, and his voice sounded choked up when he spoke. "I'm not meant for that. I don't even know how to make choices and take decisions, because I never learnt how to - I wasn't even allowed to."  
James carefully sat down next to him and wrapped his arms around his skinny body, pulling him as close as he could without being scared of breaking his delicate bones that he could feel through his skin. The boy froze for a second until he started relaxing. "I'll help you figure it out", James breathed into his hair.  
Regulus's face, hot and wet, was resting in the crook of his neck. "Why are you like this? Like a saviour?"  
James, rubbing circles on his back, snorted. "I'm not. I'm just a decent person, I guess."  
Regulus lifted his head, regarding James's face carefully. His eyes were red and puffy, and full of cautiousness and something else. "Can you kiss me?", he whispered.  
James glanced down at his soft lips, his white, pointy nosetip, and the smooth forehead protecting a brain that contained so much knowledge, and wit, and the eyes, dark and deep, that had never seen love, and James leaned in and closed the unwanted distance between their faces.  
Regulus clung to his chest as if his life depended on not letting go, and James kissed him with everything he had to make his tears stop, to make it okay, and what he had to give became more every second it lasted until it was an infinite supply of something that made him want to hold Regulus close forever and never let go.  
When their lips parted, they were both panting slightly, their cheeks flushed and their fingers intertwined (however that had happened).  
"You can pick a more upbeat love song now", James smirked as soon as he had started to catch his breath, and pecked Regulus's nose tip lightly.  
"I don't know any upbeat songs, but you can write me one", Regulus said without missing a beat, smiling softly.  
"Smooth", James chuckled. "You already learnt from me."  
Regulus ignored the comment. "Can you stay here for a bit? I know you're probably feeling tired, so it's not a problem if you'd rather go to sleep -"  
"I can hold you until you fall asleep", James said. "While you're holding your Teddy bear, of course.  
"He's called Mr. Snuggly,", Regulus said defiantly.  
"While you're holding Mr. Snuggly", James corrected.  
"I named him when I was three, you know", Regulus explained with a dignified expression.  
"You're kind of adorable, you know."  
"I'm not adorable!", Regulus protested and yawned, which made him look like a lion cub. He stood up with his arms still around James's shoulders, and James was resting his on Regulus's hips, smiling up at him.  
"You're slightly adorable."  
"I'm the heir of the most ancient and noble house of Black -"  
"Still cute."  
"But -"  
"Cute. Now let's go to bed."  
"Fine. But I'm not cute!"  
"I'll take you on a date tomorrow because you're so cute." James stood up and rested his chin on top of Regulus's head.  
"I can't really protest", Regulus muttered.  
"See", James smirked, and he bent down in order to kiss the boy's lips again.  
Before he could touch his mouth, Regulus eagerly leaned in to close the distance.  
"My turn", he said.


End file.
